Old days at the Academy
by kind.of.a.writer
Summary: Because even legends started as rookies, these are some moments from May and Phil's time at the Academy, like pranks, adventures and hard times that made them become the team they're now
1. What are friends for?

I don't own anything (I wish I did xD)

I'm going to write some Philinda friendship moments, like pranks, holidays and stuff, until the day of their graduation from The Academy! I hope you'll like it :)

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><p><em>You are on the right side of a basement entry, placed in the inferior right corner of the room. You are alone and can't communicate with anyone. If enemy A, nine feet away, has a gunshot unloaded in his left hand, and enemy B,nineteen feet away, has a loaded gun, who shouldyou atack first?<em>

"What the hell is this?" she cried out, unable to contain herself.

"I'm sorry?" asked the guy who was sitting two chairs to her right

It was very late, and they were the only ones who were still studying at the library. They were sitting in the same wood table, each engrossed in their respective book, lit by the last lights on. It was a Sunday night, and both freshmen would have the next day one of the most important theoretical examinations. For him it would be simple, he was good with strategies and the theoretical part, and if he was till studying it was because maybe he insisted too much. For her... well, that was another story.

"I'm sorry. It's just... I don't get this" she complained. "I just can't understand theorical stuff"

"It's called theoretical" he said. It was not a presumptuous correction, just a comment, and she liked that. "Let me see it"

The chestnut-haired guy stood up and then sat down on a chair in front of her. He took the book and read it, taking a few minutes to find the answer.

"You are in a basement, right?" he said after a small pause. "This means there are stairs, perhaps some pillars, behind which you could hide... What would you do?"

"Me? No idea. I'd have to watch them, decide which enemy is the weaker and what factors could be potencially dangerous" she snorted, clearly upset, then rolled her eyes. "I mean, what am I doing in the freaking basement anyway? Do I have to knock out those guys, get some files or what?"

He smiled. She was a smart girl, and seemed to think just like him.

"It's simpler than that... Let me show you"

He took one of his notebooks from his bag and the pen she had put asides a few minutes before. He drew a perfectly rectangular room, then added some letters; _M, A, B._

"Now, this is the field" The guys started. "_A _and _B_ are your enemies. You are the _M_"

"Why am I the M?" she asked, confused. In most exercises and textbooks, agents were represented by circles or letters X.

"Well, because your name is Melinda" he replied.

"You know my name?"

She was a shy and quiet specialist, he was a cheerful field agent. Both areas were something like rivals by the time because they both thought they were superior than the other ones, and they used every opportunity they got to prove it.

"Of course I know your name, everyone does" he answered, shrugging. "I mean, we are just freshmen, but you already kicked all those senior asses" She blinked, surprised, was that a compliment? "We share some classes, you know"

May internally thanked her mother for teaching her on how to control her emotions, because otherwise she would have blushed violently. She didn't know that guys had that power over her. Like, not in real life.

"I know. Your name is Philip Coulson, isn't it?"

"Just Phil"

"Well, just Phil, why on earth are you still studyng on a Sunday night? You are still getting a perfect A"

"That's because I study as much as you train. But, do you want me to explain this to you or what?"

"Oh, please" she sighed.

"Fine. So you are M. A is on your left, and B is right in fronto of you"

"Why can't they be on my right, or behind me?" she asked.

"Because the entry is in the inferior right corner, so there is a wall in your right side and the stairs behind you. And, if you have already reach the basement, there shouldn't be anyone following you"

"Why?"

"Because you already took care of them. Besides, the reason of why A is in your left and not in front of you, is because the book places the first enemy inmediately next to you, then in front of you, and then behind you"

"The book. What book?... Oh. That thing you are holding is a book"

He didn't sigh or lost his patience. He just smiled, amused with her exasperartion.

"It's fine. It says that in the prologue, anyway"

"I was meant to read the prologue?" she exclaimed, horrified. " Oh, fuck this, I'm screwed" May smacked her head dramatically against the notebook. "I'm a mess. I'm going to fail this stupid exam, then I'm going to fail the year and they will kick me out of the Academy, so I'll end working as a secretary or..."

"Come on, don't exaggerate. Besides, Melinda May, working as a secretary? "Phil said, trying to cheer her up. "I barely know you, but I'm pretty sure that I would have to get you out of that place before you set it on fire"

"Fine. If I ever end up doing the paperwork, you can either rescue me or shoot me"

"It's a deal. Now try to focus in this. You just have to think more"

"Thanks" she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"I didn't mean that" he said, chuckling. "I know that you are good working under pressure, and that all depends of the situation you are living. Trust me, that's what I would do too. Just try to imagine yourself in the basement."

"I..."

"I'm sorry, kids, you gotta go now" Professor Maxwell, some kind of fossil who was in charge of the library, walked towards the two young agents. "It's a half past eleven, and I need to close this place"

"Fine" they said in unison, and he walked away to get his keys.

"That's it. It's over" she muttered.

"No, don't worry, May. Let's go to the gym, I think I know how to make you understand" Phil put his books back in his bag and they both stood.

"Just Phil Coulson, I think you are my salvation"

He just smiled.

And hour and a half later, the two freshmen were still in the gym. They hadn't gone to the smaller one, which was more private and confortable, because it was closed, so they had to be content with the bigger one. They had changed into their sport clothes, and now they were laughing as they sparred, sharing their secret techniques and movements. Once she had understood the exercise and the theoretical crap, as she liked to call it, the exam had been completely forgotten, because, as Phil had said, the most important part was to be relaxed. And, in a weird way that she couldn't understand, he was better at calming her down than Tai chi.

"Aaaannd... die!" May said, dropping him with a kick.

He fell down heavily, the air taken from her lungs by the blow, but laughed anyway.

"That was quite impressive" Phil said. Well, he was starting to realise that everything about her was.

With a small smirk on her flushed and sweaty face, May held a hand to help him up. He took it, but instead of standing up he pulled her at the same time he stretched out his leg to make her lose her balance. He caught her off guard and she fell down into the floor, right next to him.

"Now that's low" she protested, laughing. "You shouldn't do that to a lady"

"What, you want your revenge?" Phil asked, amused.

"Best of three?"

"Actually, I think that it's enough for tonight" a voice spoke from the stands.

They stood up at the same time, perfectly synchronized

"Nick? What are you doing here?" Asked Coulson, surprised.

"I saw the lights on and I wanted to see what was going on" he said, walking downstairs to reach them.

It was a tall and burly guy, with dark skin and hair as black as May's. Seeming serious and responsible, but still like a nice guy, he was one of the alumni from the Academy, who was working there as a trainer like many others

"This is my s.O, Nick Fury" said Phil.

"I know, Phil, he supervises some of our classes" she remembered him.

"Melinda May, isn't it?" asked the other one. "Hey, don't look surprised. As you just said, I supervise your classes, and let me tell you, you are a great fighter. Besides, I worked with your mother some years ago"

"Thanks. And really?"

"Yeah. She's excellent, a great trainer, but you must know that already... Whatever, what are you doing here? It's sunday!"

"Phil was helping me with this exam" May said, sighing at the memory. "Tomorrow we have this huge theory exam... and I suck"

"You are not that bad" Phil consoled her, making her roll her eyes.

"Well, you should go to sleep, it's almost one o'clock and you can't fall asleep in your exam" suggested Fury. "By the way, I saw you guys sparring, and you make one hell of a team"

"Thanks" they both said.

"And you are right" May hastily put her things on her back, putting a grey jacket over her thin training t-shirt. "I gotta go, my s.O is going to kill me. Bye, Nick, nice to meet you. And thanks, Phil, for everything."

"Bye..." he said, watching her disappear through the door.

A few seconds later his s.O burst out laughing, giving him a small punch on his back.

"You are not that bad" he imitated him in a shrill voice, shaking his haid. "Byeee..."

"What? What's your point?" replied the other one, pissed and somewhat embarrassed.

"Damn it, boy, you totally like that girl" Fury elbowed him in the ribs as they headed to the gym's entry. Sometimes Nick was more like an annoying older brother than some capable and professional secret agent

"Of course I don't like her!" he said. "I just met her!"

"You two make a nice couple... May and Phil, sitting under a tree..."

"Geez, Fury, just leave it" Phil cut him off, rolling his eyes.

"Fine. However, she's very pretty"

That was something Phil Coulson just couldn't disagree with.

...

Two weeks later, the test results were published in the bulletin board of freshmen. After discussing with her friends, May had gone for Phil, to tell him the news. They had become really close friends and now they met every day. People had begun to speak, for an Academy of a super secret agency can not be exempt gossip and stories. And the last one was, what was doing that shy specialist looking for a popular field agent?

After about ten minutes of walking the halls finding no hint from Phil, she finally saw him. He was at his locker, changing the books for the next class.

"Hi, Phil" she said, going to his side.

"Hey you" he greeted happily.

"I got a B-!" She said, almost jumping of excitement. "I'd never gotten more than a D in theory!"

"Really? That's awesome! I told you you could do it" he smiled.

They started to walk towards the gardens. Some students were looking at them in strangeness, but the didn't even notice it.

"I definitely would have failed without you" she replied. "But, in the exam, I tried to imagine it just like you told me to"

"I was in the clasroom with you, idiot" he remembered her, chuckling. "And also when the professor screamed at you to shut up"

She just nodded, smiling, as if it were such a great memory. They sat on the grass, under one of the great oaks, whose branches gently swayed with the wind. The day was warm and cozy, perfect to go out and escape exams for a while. May wore his usual black pants and a turquoise blouse, that one way or another showed off her eyes, or at least so it seemed to him. For his part, Phil wore jeans and a simple black t-shirt. A few yards away, a couple of girls watched the two agents, incredulous. What the hell did Coulson, one of the most coveted Academy boys, sitting with that specialist?

"Well, anyway, I brought you something to thank you" said May, taking a small envelope from her backpack.

"You didn't have to" he said.

"I know. But I wanted to. Go ahead, take it" she insisted, waving it in front of his face.

Phil took the envelope, which was simple and white, without any writing or dedication. It was not a romantic gift, very different from the kind of objects that another girl had ever given him. He liked that, because it was a reminder of how different she was. Opening it he found a collectible Captain America card, very old, but in perfect conditions.

"The other day you said that you collect them" said his friend, shrugging. "My mother knows a guy, who gave it to her because he owed her a favor or something. It's the number twenty three from the limited edition of the..."

"Fifty five" he completed. "Thank you, for real, I've been looking for this edition for years"

A girl who gives Captain America cards, Phil thought, now this is a special girl. Besides, he had only told her once that he collecter cards, as a trivial comment, he didn't actually expect for her to remember it. By the way he was looking at her, he seemed about to kiss her, which made her blush lightly for a few seconds.

"It's not a big deal" she said. "My mother was so happy because you had helped me that she sent it within two days. I think she adores you, and she doesn't like a lot of people"

"I'm glad" Phil put the card carefully in his bag. "But you don't have to give me anything, I'm still going to help you with theory if you need to"

"Of course I need to!"

"Fine, I will help you with your _theorical _problem " she rolled his eyes, smacking his shoulder. "You can help me with hand to hand stuff"

"But you are great with that"

"I'm certainly not as good as you" he said. "Besides, next month we'll have to pick a partner"

If he had to be honest, that had been Fury's idea. After watching them train together, and swearing to God that it wasn't a plan to make them a couple, he had suggested him to ask her. At the end of the day, he was still one of the best and mod clever agents from the agency, and he knew how to recognize a great team when he saw it

"Do you want us to work together?" she asked.

She couldn't help but feeling surprised. Unlike her, Coulson had hundreds of friends and several girls who would kill to be his partner in the class. In addition, they had only met a couple of weeks ago, and partners were supposed to last for the rest of the year. And all of that was excluding the fact that she was a specialist and he was a field agent.

"I mean, just if you want to" he said, a little bit awkwardly.

"Of course I do" she smiled. "I'd love to... Your fans won't be specially thrilled about it, though."

"Fans?"

She pointed on the sly the girls that were still spying them.

"Oh, crap, that's Vanessa... I think" he said, upset. "John, my roommate, was trying to convince me to go on a date with her"

"She seems... pretty"

"She is stupid" Phil rolled his eyes, making her smile. "I'd never go out with her... Hey it's two almost two. Do you wanna have lunch?" he asked. "I'm starving"

"Sure, let's go" she said, accepting the hand he had offered her. "Geez, I still can't get over the fact that I got a B- in theory"

"It's great, Mel"

"Mel?" May asked, amused. Besides her mother, and a couple of very old friends, no one had ever called her anything different from May or Melinda

"Oh, I'm sorry" Phil apologised.

"It's fine" she calmed him. "I like Mel... and thanks again, Phil. For helping me and everything."

"That's what friends are for, right?"

_Friends..._ May thought, as they started to walk to the cafeteria, with a smile on her face.

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><p>Now they just met... What do you guys think? Please give me some reviews! And if you have any ideas or want some special moment in the story, just send me a PM or post it in a review!<p> 


	2. Legends

"I'm boooored" said Phil, sighing. He threw a ball against the floor as he had been doing for the last thirty minutes. In the bed that was in front of him, May was lying with her head almost reaching the floor of the room, with her eyes closed and her hands playing with the other ball.

"Well, what do you want to do?" she asked him, opening his eyes and straightening up.

"I don't know... A new horror film premieres today in cinema" he commented, as they threw their balls to each other in perfect synch.

"Really? How do you know?"

"John and Felix were talking about it today" he admitted, shrugging. "Apparently there is a function at one, and I think that tomorrow they were planning on using some girl from communications that happens to have a crush on John to hack the movie and proyect the movie here"

"That'd be great... but do you know what would be even better?"

"Oh, no, you have the face"

"The face?" she replied, not understanding what he meant on that.

"That face" Phil pointed at her with a finger. "The face you make every time you think about something that could get us into trouble"

"Well, we are alone, at my room at night" she remembered him. He slightly blushed, making her laugh. "I'm pretty sure you can get expelled by beeing at the girls room at night"

"That's because John is .. occupying our room. More specifically occupying _someone _in our room"

Disgusted with the thought, Melinda threw a cushion at his head, giving perfectly on target. It was true, Phil had gone to look at ten at night to her room. She had let him in, because he was her best friend and escape from John and his... guest, was a pretty reasonable request.

"Hey, you asked me... where is Vic, by the way?" he asked, looking at the bed he was sitting on.

It had a blood-red bedspreads, like most of his belongings, including her hair. She and May were roommates and got along pretty well, much better than when they had met. In the last month they had got more close to each other, and now they could be considered as really good friends.

"She's... Who knows? She must have gone to the roof with some guy or something like that" she answered.

"Oh. So... what was the idea you had had?"

"Ahh, so you are as eager to do something as me" May smiled in triumph.

Phil rolled his eyes. He knew perfectly what was going to happen. She was going to drag him into one of her crazy ideas, maybe another nocturne visit to the staff room or some risky prank. At the beginning he would deny to do something against the rules but, as always, he would end up agreeing. After a few minutes or hours of fun maybe they would caught them and they would have to go to the detention room. Again.

"Shot" he said. "I'm too bored to refuse right now"

"Well, it's actually very simple... let's go to the cinema!"

"To the...? what?"

"With our bikes we won't get there too fast, and we'll probably miss the movie" May continued as if she hadn't heard him. "We can take one of the motorcycles. You know how to ride them, right?"

"Well, yeah, but that's not the point!" he replied. "You want to go to the city?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Why not? Hum, let me see... because it's forbidden, because it is too far away, because we can't just ran away with some stolen motorcycle, and because I don't want to get expelled"

"Gosh, Phil, you are such a drama queen" she snorted. "First, we are not getting expelled for something like that. Students go to the city all the time"

"Yeah, the seniors, because they can actually do it, and still not even in the middle of the night like you want us to! Freshmen don't go, May"

"And why can't we be the first? We'd be legends" she said with dreamy eyes.

"Of course. And I'll be the director of the agency" replied Coulson, resting his back against the wall.

"And why not?" replied his friend, more serious this time. "You can be the director if you want to. What's more, I bet you ten bucks you'll be the director one day"

May approached him with an extended hand. He took it, shaking his hand.

"Sure, whatever you say, Mel. One day I'll be the director and you'll be a legend whose name will be known by the whole agency"

"It's a deal, one day you'll have to pay me. Now let's go"

"Let's go?"

She pulled his hand and Phil stood up.

"Duh, how am I supposed to become a legend if I can't even take you to a movie?"

"Oh, so you are paying?"

She rolled her eyes, playfully smacking his arm. He finally smiled, giving up. They took their jackets, some money and watches. Perhaps there were no modern communications equipment at the time, but at least they could keep in touch, as they also worked like walkie-talkies.

"Now... through the window" May opened it with decision.

"The what?!" he exclaimed. "That was not a part of the deal!"

"Of course. The corridors are full of cameras and lasers and stuff like that"

"We are on the tenth floor!"

"No, Phil... we are on the ninth floor"

"Ah, good to know. Now I'm calmed" he said bitterly.

"I'm glad. And we are not jumping, for God's sake" she said, passing both legs gracefully to the other side of the window. "We are walking through the balcony to the fire escape that leads to the first floor"

"You are insane, you knew that?" Asked Phil, following her resigned. "For real"

With a smile on her face, she disappeared into the darkness. Coulson went out the window, turning off the lights and closing the curtains before daring to look down. If May hadn't lied, they really were on the ninth floor, but it seemed a thousand-foot drop to him. May was waiting for him on the little balcony that had the girls bedrooms. Ever had been home to a series of beautiful flower. But now, apart from some occasional withered shoot, seemed transformed into a real dump.

"This is absolutely disgusting" complained Phil, trying to remove a liquid of dubious origin from the edge of his sleeve.

"Shh, if they hear us, we are dead"

They continued crawling on the balconies, crouching as much as they could so they wouldn't be detected in case someone gave a peek through the window. Occasionally some girls's laugh was heard, even a couple of snoring slipped through the curtain. Whenever they heard someone awake they would hurry to reach the next room, especially when some of the noises threatened to disturb them to death.

"This is funny, isn't it?" May tried to cheer him up, as she knew he wasn't the biggest enthusiast of heights.

"Yeah. Ha, ha. I'm about to die of laughter" he replied. That didn't occur very often, but the mordacity if his voice prevented May on keeping on talking.

At the end of the balconies, they began to fall rapidly by the fire escape. It was risky, as well as it squeaked slightly with each step he took, as she made no sound, it was possible that someone could see them from one of the windows. Finally on the ground Phil jumped several times on it

"Earth! Finally, earth!"

"Shut up, dumbass!" she snapped in a low voice, hauling him to the wall. "Shit, Phil, they'll catch us because of you"

"Sorry" he whispered.

"Now... here, this way. We need to reach the professors's parking lot to take one of the motorcycles..."

"What? Do you wanna steal some professor's motorcycle? Do they even use those?"

"It's a freaking agency, of course some of them do. Besides, of course there is no way we are stealing... we'll borrow"

"And why can't we _borrow_ someone elses's one?

"Because motorcycles don't fit through the gate the seniors use to pass their bikes, and if we want to leave we must go through the entry of teachers. Motorbikes and cars of and teachers have a special code the door recognizes by a sensor" she told him, as both ran through the dark gardens of the Academy.

When Phil Coulson remembered that night in the future, he would laugh about it, saying that the excitement of youth had driven him to follow his best friend in that risky adventure. Bullshit. At the time, all he could do was following her with his heart in hand, cursing under his breath and praying that the hunting guard dogs were just a myth.

""You're a psychopath, May" he said. Both reached the parking through the concierge door, as May knew the key was hidden under a flower pot, It was almost empty, but some vehicles were still there. "Don't get me wrong, I usually like it. But how is it that you remember all of this, and you fail theory?"

"Because this is funny and actually useful in real live" May approached to one of the motorbikes. It was large and painted a glossy black, a frankly impressive vehicle. "Hey, this one's Fury's, isn't it?

"Yeah, but it's a Harley Davidson Duo Glide FLH made in 1960" he replied, not even daring to look at it.

"... So? Can't we take it?"

"Melinda, is a Harley Davidson Duo Glide FLH made in 1960" he repeated, rolling his eyes. "And I'm pretty sure Fury got her some things from the tech division, I mean, I seriously doubt other motorbikes have those guns" said Phil.

"Got _her_?" Melinda asked. "_Her_, really Coulson?"

"Yeah, _her_"

"Oh, you guys are insane" she muttered. "Come on, Phil, I know he would lend it to you..."

"Yeah, she and his lungs. It's not a joke, Mel"

"Dude, it's just a motorbike... Uhm, a really nice one. I need to ride one of those"

"I'll teach you to, I promise. Other day. Now let's go"

"Now way" May knelt in front of the bike, inspecting her alarm system. Finally she pulled out a clip from her pocket and inserted it into the padlock. "It's a quarter to twelve. We can still reach the film"

"As if you could open it with that" he murmured, looking around them somewhat nervous. "I don't know why you wanna see a horror film, this fucking subterranean looks like one"

"Hey, it's gonna be awesome" she crooned, still focused in her task.

"You don't even like those movies... don't you remember Sycho?"

"Bah, this is going to be different. Do not be a spoilsport, Phil. We can leave the Academy for a couple of hours, it will be fun"

At that time a click is heard, and the chain that held the bike fell.

"A chain" he growled. "We are in a real-life-not-movie-like secret agency full of weapons and no, he could no chose some laser, he had to use a chain attached to the clutch... Wait, what if it's a trap and it explodes?"

"He wouldn't blow his Harley Davidson Duo Glide FLH made in 1960" she mimicked his voice in a girly tone. May introduced the clip into the slot where the key is supposed to go and the bike and lit after a few seconds. "You really know how to ride one of these things, right?"

"Of course I do" Coulson sighed and climbed into the bike.

May climbed into the back, holding on with both hands at the edge of the seat. It was a little uncomfortable, but nothing she couldn't handle. Phil hit the gas and drove off, giving a full round around the parking lot before daring to climb up the ramp that would take them to the surface.

"You better be right about that sensor shit" he suddenly said, seeing the giant steel door in front of them. "We don't even have helmets..."

However, when they were nine feets away of what could have become a fatal crash, the doors opened quickly, and the agents reached the road.

"We did it!" exclaimed May, raising her arms.

Phil let out a cheer, finally caught by the enthusiasm of his best friend. They walked into the deserted dark, silent except for their laughter, with the only guide and companion of moonlight. They chatted animatedly all the way, wondering how their friends and the other students would react when they found out their getaway.

"It's gonna be awesome" she said with a radiant smile. "Vic and John will never believe it"

"I bet they won't... They will die of envy" agreed the other.

"How much longer?"

"We've been for almost forty minutes now... look, there are the lights of the city"

Half an hour later they had parked the bike. Missing almost five minutes to the start of the film, and with a ticket in hand and a package of popcorn in the other, the two friends were ready to go. The audience was mostly young people their age, in pairs or small groups of friends waiting impatiently. The night was pretty warm to be the end of november, but because of the excitement nobody seemed to focus on climate.

"Give me this" May took the cup of coffee he had in one hand.

"I thought you didn't like it"

"And I don't" she drank two long sips before giving it back to him. "Puaj" she wrinkled her face helplessly, making him laugh. "This is the worst thing ever"

"Why did you drink it, if you hate it so much?"

"Because I need to. To stay awake and hot" she replied, swigging some water to get rid of that bitter flavor.

"Okaaay... hey, look, we can get in now"

The movie was fine. Fine... Or so they both would say forever, swearing by their lives that they would never, EVER, reveal to anyone the terror that the film had caused them

"Oh my fucking God" said Coulson, as they went out of the cinema followed by another half hundred of traumatised teenagers. "That was..."

"The worst thing ever" said May.

"Are you shaking?"

"I'm cold" she lied, but in such an unconvincing way he just rolled his eyes.

"Sure... WHY ARE YOU CARRYING A FUCKING POSTER"?!" Phil asked scared, pointing at the paper she held in her hand.

"Chill, Phil, it's just a prove"

"Melinda Qiaolian May, I swear to God that, as you hang that in my room, that's it, we're done. I'll never talk to you again nor let you copy my answers in theory exams" he threatened her.

"You know something? I hadn't even thought about it, but thanks for the idea" she said. "I'm kidding, Phil. Damn it, how did you let me see that movie? I'm sixteen, I can't see it. Don't you remember Sycho?"

He glared at her, but said nothing. He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. It was not a romantic gesture, just his way of saying that it was not her fault and that he was there for her.

"Thanks" she whispered.

"Your welcome. Now let's get on the bike and get the hell out of here. We need to go through a forest and I want to do it quickly"

"Oh, damn it" she said and moaned. "I'm sorry, Phil, this was such a stupid idea"

"A little bit, but it was still funny" he said softly and they both got in the bike. "We'll hang the poster and nobody will believe what we did"

"Fine..." this time

"Fine ..." this time she didn't hold on at the edge of the seat, but grabbed his waist and rested her head on his back. She was exhausted, and it didn't really appealed to her to fall down the hill they would have to pass-

Arriving at the Academy they left the bike in the same place where they had found it, and May made herself the secret promise to learn to ride it someday. Then they ran to the cafeteria. It was almost four o'clock, and in a couple of hours life at the Academy would wake again. They were exhausted, terrified, and they knew that there was a long day ahead waiting for them. But it was worth it.

"Do you have tape?" May whispered.

"No, but we can attach it to the bulletin board" he replied, pointing at it. "It's in the middle and everyone will have to see it"

"Good idea"

They held a poster as they could, hiding things without importance as the timing of the tests or the menu for the week. It was larger than they had thought and covered most of the space, but that was even better. Coulson pulled out a black permanent marker from his pocket and wrote something on a corner. When he departed May could read what it said:

"_THE SHINING: Review; awesome. A little gift from a couple of fresnmen"_

She laughed, thinking it was hilarious. Then they parted and each returned to his room, promising to repeat their adventure and go look the other one if the nightmares were attacking them at night.

Almost five hours later, at eight thirty, students began to go to breakfast. The news quickly spread throughout the school; some freshmen had escaped to see the latest horror movie. That was something not seen every day.

"Hey, we totally need to do this one day" said John excited, pouring himself some eggs.

Victoria, John, May and Phil were at their usual table, having breakfast as they used to. Well, two of them ate, because the other two were using all their willpower to avoid falling asleep on the table.

"The what?" asked Melinda, yawning.

"Didn't you hear it? Some guys from our grade went to the city to watch The Shining" he told her.

"The shining? Where?" exclaimed Phil, lifting his head and looking around.

"Geez, Coulson, calm down" said Victoria, rolling her eyes when she noticed some students looking at them. "What's wrong with you two? Last night you were at the bathroom for more than half and hour, Mel, and then you whispered asleep and woke up screaming something about an ax"

The girl blushed. It was true, she had been at the bathroom and under her sheets whispering. It hadn't been because May was a sleepwalker but because she had talked with Coulson until six by their watches, and the ax thing had probably been a nightmare.

"I just had a bad night, it's nothing" she said. "You were saying, John?"

"We should go to the city some day..."

"May, why don't we go and get some orange juice?" asked Phil.

"Eh... sure" she seemed a little hesitant at first, too tired to react, but when she felt a blow below the table just stood.

"I'm so tired. I think that maybe we should..." Coulson stopped abruptly in mid-sentence.

May turned to see what had left him speechless. This was worse than any horror film. any Academy legend or Psycho and The shining together. It was Nick Fury, looking deathly enough to scare a serial murderer, with a gun in his hand and seeking revenge.

"How did he even realise something happened?" Phil whispered.

"Well, he can't prove anything" she replied, and both took refuge behind a pillar.

"Anyone would please explain to me who took my bike, scratched the back, left the Academy and returned near three on the morning?" roared the instructor.

A series of whispers spread through the students. And then, one by one, from the first year to last, all of them pointed the poster.

"Shit, he knows how I write" said Phil, and May gave him a strong stomp.

"A Freshman ..." said Fury. "First year students, up"

Everyone obeyed. Maybe he was not a teacher and maybe he wasn't using the most appropriate educational method, but nobody cared about it. He was an undisputed authority in the agency. Plus, he had a gun.

"Coulson" he bellowed. "That's your handwriting"

The boy swallowed and walked from behind his hiding.

"Where were you last night?"

"With me" May took a step forward. "He was helping me with the theory exam"

"It's true" said John. "I saw them"

Victoria nodded eagerly, ready to help her friend and roommate, who had covered her countless times.

Fury shot them a death glare. It was obvious that he didn't believe a word, but he wouldn't have more proves until checking the security cameras, and didn't want to form a scene so early in the cafeteria.

"I'll see you two at my office at four" was all he said before leaving.

The cafe was silent for a few moments, then the matter was quickly forgotten and everything returned to normal calm. However, when Phil and May rose to leave their trays, a group of sophomores applauded them. Things like that happened again several times throughout the day; some guys gave them a high-five, a pair of seniors came to congratulate them on the sly, and some guy from third year even asked May to go on a date with him.

"Hum, I'll call him later" she commented, after staring confusedly at the number for a few seconds.

"Are you for real?" asked Coulson.

"Yeah, he was hot"

"He wasn't hot" he muttered to himself.

"Anyway, can't you see it? We are _legends _now" May smiled as they both headed to Fury's office.

"Yeah, dead legends" he said.

Both entered, pretending to feel as calm as they could. Fury was already waiting for them in the office the s.O shared, though of course it was completely empty at the time.

"What on earth were you thinking?" he yelled, as soon as the door was closed and they sat in front of them. "You really thought I wouldn't realise that my bike was gone? It has a tracker, you idiots"

The other two exchanged a quick panic look.

_If I got expelled, my mother will kill me, _thought ay, gulping. _Or worse, she'll send me to a private school where I'll have to wear something like, ugh, skirts_

"Your actions were totally stupid, dangerous and inadecuadas" continued Fury. "And I think you both understand that is reason enough to expel you from the Academy and agency"

"It wasn't his fault" she quickly said. "I conviced him on leaving"

"No, Mel, we..."

"Nice try, but I seriously doubt the director will be any interested in hearing that" his s.O cut him odd, letting out a snort of disdain. "You were together in the girls room after sleeping hour, you went down the fire escape, stole a motorcycle and ran out of the building, and what you have to say in your defense?"

They just gulped. Fury stood, showing them an ax. Putting on his best Jack Torrance-psychopath-face, he raised the ax. It was a joke, actually, but they were too exhausted to think about it so they just remembered the film and screamed at the top of their lungs,

"No, please!" Said Coulson.

"We didn't even scratch her!" cried May, as they covered their faces.

"We are so sorry!"

Fury smiled, amused by the pannick in the pair of freshmen who had dared to escape the Academy. He put the ax asides and couldn't help but laugh.

"Your, your faces" he said, sitting down again, holding his stomach as he laughed. "Oh, God, your faces... Open your eyes, kids, I'm not going to kill you... yet"

Coulson and May looked at them and a dark red stained their faces. They pulled apart, as they had hugged each other in a last act of desesperation.

"So, they movie scared the hell out of you, huh?" the s.O continued, smiling. "Geez, you were about to cry"

"You didn't watch it" murmured May.

"Wait, how did you know about the ax?" asked Coulson, gently patting her shoulder.

"Because I saw the trailer" he admitted. "And you shouldn't have gone, May, you are sixteen and it had a R rating"

"Lesson learned" she said.

"And, about the scratch, I said that to scare the others, I already knew it had been you two. Come on, I'm pretty sure you knew about the cameras. But that's not the point. "Fury sighed, finally weeping away his anger. "Guys, I should really deport you to the Academy council. But they would expel you, and I don't want to loose my two best students, do you want to get kicked out?"

"We are sorry" they apologised. "For real"

"All Right. I will not inform anyone else about this ... but that doesn't mean that you will escape from punishment,"Fury pulled out a folder. But it was not any folder, no, this was the folder, known throughout the Academy to contain the worst punishments that could be allocated to students. "Let me see ... The kitchen? Humm, no ... Clean the roof with toothbrushes? Maybe some other time ... Here it is. You will have to clean my bike, obviously. Melinda will copy four chapters of the book of theory ..."

"WHAT?" she exclaimed.

"... every saturday morning... for two months" he finished, who really seemed to be enjoying their suffering. "And you, Coulson, you will have to clean the gym every three nights for a whole month"

"Can't we change?" they asked in unison.

"No way. Now get the hell out of here, if you don't want me to change my mind and use the ax"

Seeing her opening her mouth, Coulson grabbed her arm, dragging her out of the office. Fury sighed, but smirked slightly at the two friends. When the alarm from his keys had sounded last night, telling him that his precious bike was too far away, he had run to check security systems. He had seen the two young crawl balconies and jump to the fire escape. Damn, that girl had opened the lock on his bike with a clip. Shaking his head, returned to save his precious folder on the desktop. Those kids were going to accomplish great things, he thought, he just had to guide them.

Once outside, Coulson let go of May and began to walk in the opposite direction.

"Phil ..." she said, following him.

"I hope you're happy now" snapped him without looking at her.

"Look, I'm sorry" she insisted. He was at least ten five inches taller, so she was forced to trot to achieve his long hasty strides. "I swear I'll help you to clean the gym ... No, I'll clean the gym. It was the most stupid idea ever"

Phil stopped. He sighed and turned to face her. May really seemed to feel it, she probably did, and couldn't help but give her a small smile of sympathy.

"It doesn't matter, Mel. You don't have to help me, I could use some company, though... Besides, anyway it was fun"

"Wasn't it?" she grinned. "In that case... what do you wanna see next time?"

"Don't even think about it, you are already a legend"

"Not yet... So, the bet is still on, huh?"

* * *

><p>Yeah, this was a long one... Did you like it? The next chapters won't be that long, though, and more funny I promise. Please post reviews, I'm not sure if you want me to continue so please post your comments! :)<p>

Some clarifications:

1. I don't own anything

2. The shining was actually premiered in may, but I put it in november due to some date issues

3. Fine, Fury's bike is not as badass as how it would be, but he put it a lot of tech and modifications to make it look more cool ;)


	3. A heart-shaped pizza

She knocked shyly his bedroom door. She wasn't quite sure about what she was doing there, didn't even know if she actually wanted to see him, but Victoria was not available and she needed someone. She sighed as she waited for an answer, moving the sole of her shoe absently over the blue carpet as she scratched a piece of paint that was falling off the wall.

"It's open" he finally said, from inside.

May turned the knob and entered the cluttered room, closing behind her backs. Comics, books, old exams and soda cans were strewn across the floor, as well as food scraps whose date was unknown. Phil was sitting on the couch reading a comic, and she smiled when she realized he was using the Captain America shirt she had gotten him for Christmas.

"Hey" he saluted her, happy and confused to see her at the same time. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be at the city, at your date with Mark... he stood you up?" he added, frowning.

She shook her head. The days were still somewhat cold, but the atmosphere in the room was warm enough to put aside her jacket and stay with a simple white shirt and a red hanky. She sat beside him, kicking her boots off to put her feet on the couch, adopting the same position he was in.

"He... he did show up" she admitted after a small pause, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"Oh, so?" Phil put his comic on the floor, what actually meant a lot, for he could see that his best friend was not okay. She was biting her lip, her eyes were shining and fixed in the floor. He put one hand in her knee and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"He... he brought me flowers" she confessed, covering her blushed face with her hands. "Oh, Phil, he appeared with a bouquet of roses!"

She felt absolutely humiliated and pathetic because of her reaction and couldn't prevent a tear rolling down her cheek. Not very sure about what he was supposed to do, Coulson hugged her by the shoulders, pulling her closer to his side.

"And I... I panicked! I closed the door, opened it, closed it agan and said I couldn't do it" May continued, burying her head in his chest. "I know I was been ridiculous and now Mark will never talk to me again"

"Hey, it's not a big deal" he replied.

"It's just that, God, I'm a mess. He gave me the flowers and I, agh, I suck at these things!"

Phil smiled slightly at her frustration, gently stroking her hair. Mark was a nice guy, sophomore, who had always been kind to his friend, (otherwise he could be considered deadman). But really was stupid, he thought, if he had brought her some roses after dating just for a couple of weeks.

If he were her boyfriend he would have done things differently. He wouldn't have bought her flowers or chocolates, he didn't want to scare her, and neither would have taken her to a cheesy coffee as Mark had planned. No, he would have done something simpler, more personal, something that showed how much he knew her and cared for her. Maybe they would had had a walk around the gardens at night, but not with a carriage or violins or turning the whole thing into a big deal, just to stroll and enjoy their company, as so often they had done at recess. Then they could have gone by the lake and they would had been sitting on a blanket that he would have brought in a backpack, accompanied with her favourite meal and a movie. And the thing is that the special part of the night wouldn't be any extravagancy or his opportunity to shine and impress her, that was not them. It would have been just one more way to show how deeply he appreciated her, how much she meant for him and how crazily in love he was with Melinda May...

"Do you think he'll ever forgive me?" she asked, popping his bubble and taking him out of his reveries. "I mean, he broke up with me, but he looked really mad and I wouldn't want to be one of those girls who just hate their exes"

"Huh?" he replied, still clinging onto the daydream of their perfect date. "He'll understand, Mel. And if he broke up with you it is because he's a complete idiot"

May straightened a bit, wiping her face with the back of her hand. She looked into his eyes and realised that he was serious. Coulson really seemed as if he meant what he had said. He probably did.

"Thanks, Phil" she muttered, offering him a small smirk. "I'm the idiot in this story, but that doesn't matter"

"It's not your fault, silly" he insisted, giving her a small punch in the arm. "You just had dated for a couple of weeks, any girl would freak out with that. I bet Vic would have broken his nose"

"You are right" May chuckled. "But now she is at the cinema, with Thomas... and John?"

"He took a girl out to a restaurant in the city, whatever they do next I really don't want to know, but it won't be here for I paid him ten bucks to stay away" he answered, shrugging. For special dates like San Valentine's day, the Academy allowed the students to go out to the city, they could even borrow a car if they wanted to. That measure had been implemented after that, one year, the gardens had been filled with hormonal couples who fought for a privileged corner and others, on the contrary, that didn't seem to have any privacy issues.

"And what about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you are popular, Phil, tons of girls would have killed to go on a date with you" said May, a little puzzled. "How is it that you are not with anyone?"

"Oh, well... the truth is, Sophia asked me out and so did Laura, but you know that they are not my type" he admitted. "They are so dumb act so and hoity-toity because they know they're more beautiful than the other girls"

For one reason or the other, his eyes were glued to his hands, as if he felt embarrassed or guilty fo the girls's behavior. When he looked up again he saw that her expression hadn't changed at all. She didn't push him to say anything, as she was also a quiet person and understood how it was to lose yourself in a daydream. That was one of the many things he liked about her, he thought, the fact that she liked the silence. They could both sit down and read for a while, not even talking for hours, just keeping each other company..

"Well, considering that I'm the girl that ended up with you, I gotta say I feel somewhat offended" May suddenly joked, rolling her eyes teasingly at him. Damn it, did she have a way of knowing when someone was thinking aboyt her?

"Don't be a fool, Mel" replied her friend, returning the gesture. "You are prettier than them, it's just that they don't want to admit it"

"Oh, sure... But, if it's not them, isn't there any other girl you would like to be with?" she insisted, determined to obtain at least one name. At the end of the day, she believed, if none of them had accepted to go out with him it was because they were blind idiots.

"Nah, I'm fine with you here" he replied. "You are nicer and cheaper. Like, right now, I'm saving renting a car, a restaurant, some flowers, dressing up..."

"Hum, so, talking about your financial situation, would pizza crash your market?" she asked, feeling her stomach rumbling. "Mark and I were going to go to a restaurant and I haven't eaten since lunch. I'll pay you later, I swear, but I'm starving and I don't have any money here"

"Actually, I'm hungry too" he said.

"Great" May stood up. "I'll go to the bathroom and then we can order"

"Uh... you really wanna go in there? Because I wouldn't" he warned her, seeing her about to enter in the bathroom he shared with Garrett.

"Okay, maybe I'll go somewhere else. In the meantime, you already know what to order" she said, and winked before leaving the room.

Coulson picked up the phone from the table in front of him. Thank goodness, the Academy had a delivery system that allowed students to order food and receive it in their bedroom, either pizza, Chinese food, chicken wings or even some green thing that no one had ever ordered. He believed it was called salad.

"Hello?"

"Here is the delivery system, please tell me your name, area, grade and bedroom" said a boy from the other side of the line. Phil cursed himself for calling, realizing that it was Jack, an idiot who had failed like eight years ago and now worked at the cafeteria with his whole life dedicated to disturb the students.

"Phil Coulson, field agent, first year, room 616" he murmured, taking a deep breath.

"Okay... why would you like to order?"

"Two middle-sized pizzas, please"

"No, I asked why. For Valentine's day?"

"Because I'm hungry" Phil rolled his eyes.

"Are you with someone?"

"Yes"

"A girl or a boy?"

"A girl, but what on earth does anything of this have to do with my pizza?" he exclaimed, clearly upset.

"A special girl?" _Yes_, he thought, althought no in that way.

"My best friend"

"Aahh, we've have many of those today" Jack commented. "Trying to beat up the friend-zone, huh?"

"Not at all, we are just friends. Now, I'd like a pizza..."

"Is that girl your girlfriend?"

"WHY DO YOU CARE ABOUT THAT?!" He snapped, losing his patience. He stood and poured himself some coke, trying to stay calm.

What was that thing that Melinda liked so much? Oh, yeah, Tai- chi. He took a deep breath, trying to remember the times he had seen her doing it.

"I'm sorry, the cafeteria needs to know if you will give the pizza an use that does not conform part of the eating habits"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, spitting the drink he had begun to have and choking because of his irregular and discoordinated breathing.

"Look, to be honest..."

"I just wanna eat some fucking pizza!"

"Fine, Finn Clowson"

"It's Phil Coulson"

"Whatever, Flynn, I need to know if..."

"Yes, she is my girlfriend!" he finally exploded, reaching his limit of exasperation. "Could you send me two middle-sized pizzas, yes or not?"

"Dude, we sell pizza, that's the point" replied Jack. Coulson asked himself if he really enjoyed bothering the students or if he was just a moron. "Which pizza would you like?"

"A pepperoni one, and... one of those who have tiny sausages and meat"

"Great. They'll be there in half an hour or so, Finn"

Coulson hung up violently, since when he had to tell someone about his private life to eat a pizza? Melinda, his girlfriend? ... Ha. Well, at least he had managed to order a meal. He returned to the couch and began to dry the spilled liquid, muttering against Valentine's day and fantasizing about the idea of strangle Jack.

"I'm back" said May, coming in. "Hey, why is my jacket all wet?" she asked, grabbing it by one of the sleeves. "And what are you doing with that sponge"

"Don't ask" he replied, flopping on the coach. "Two pizzas are on their way"

"Cool... you wanna see a movie?"

"'Sure..." Phil kneeled down next to the shelfe where his roommate and he kept a collection of movies that was quite impressive for a couple of students from a secret agency at the early 80's. "So, we have King Kong, Grease, Breakfat at Tiffany's... Hey, don't look at me like that, John got it to play sensible with girls... Anyway, The Godfather, ChinaTown, Starwars, Rocky, Jaws, Live and let die (no, we've already watched it to comment Bond's skills as an agent), The Getaway, Foul Play, The Deer Hunter, A Clockwork Orange...

"Geez, where did you get all of those movies?" she asked, surprised.

"Remember the girl who was supposed to hack The Shining so we could watch it? Well, she still has a crush on John, and she insists on giving him movies. It's cool" he replied.

"I bet he doesn't think that way"

"Oh, trust me, he doesn't care. I mean, she's a total psycho, but she got us a limited edition of Starwars" Phil commented, shrugging and smiling. "There are at least thirty more in here, from Frankenstein to Halloween to Willy Wonka. We can watch Jerk and laugh about Mark"

"You don't have to do this, Phil" she grinned. "We can watch another one"

"I've already watched all of them. But, if you want to, we can watch The Addams Family" he suggested, pointing at one of their favorite TV show.

"That would be perfect... You are just like Gomez" She mocked him.

"And you are Morticia"

"Really? Will you go nuts if I speak in chinese?" she said, pretending blinking seductively.

"Hum, I don't know... Hey, the pizza is here" he said, standing up when he heard the knocking.

Phil opened the door,willing to break Jack's nose he tried to made a comment. However, he had sent Artie, a sympathetic redheaded boy who was a sophomore in the investigation part, and with who Coulson had spoken a few times in the library. He had big glasses that increased at least ten times the size of his eyes. Fith a face furrowed with freckles, he was as probably about nineteen but looked no more than fifteen.

"Here's your pizza, Phil" he said nicely.

"Thanks, Artie, here you have" he gave him the money in exchange of the pizzas.

"Your welcome. Good luck with your girl" the boy, who was maybe older than him but not even taller than May, winked an eye and then disappeared.

Phil rolled his eyes and closed the door.

"Mel, the pizza is here" he announced, leaving it on the door. Then he headed to get some cutlery at the tiny section that included a small round table and that they had designated as a kitchen.

"Uhm... Phil?" she asked from the couch.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you get this pizza?"

"I thought you'd liked it like that"he replied distractedly, bending down to look under the tablecloth as he tried to find a second knife.

"Actually this is not funny" said the other one, clearly upset. "I was trying to forget about him"

"He hasn't done anything to you" Coulson couldn't help but rolling his eyes. May loved pepperoni, why would she try to forget it? For being an asian girl she absolutely adored that american product with that italian name. He would never understand girls and their diets.

"Fine, it wasn't his fault, but it was you the one who said that he was an asshole for breaking up with me" May complained, very displeased by her best friend's choice. "If you think that I..."

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. Breaking up with you?"

"Yeah, genius, Mark dumped me, remember?"

"Mark? And what does that moron have to do with the pizza?" he asked, increasingly confused.

"That I don't have a boyfriend anymore and you ordered a heart-shaped pizza"

"A...? That I what?!"

With a couple of knives and napkins in his possession, Phil returned to her and gasped. Both boxes, open on the table, contained pizzas that had the shape of a perfect heart.

"Oh, fuck. I'm so sorry, Mel" he apologised, slapping his forehead. He sat down next to her and sighed heavily. "It was that idiot of Jack. He started to ask me a lot of questions, and wanted to know what were we going to do with the pizza... And I had enough and I told him I was with my girlfriend to shut him up"

She didn't say anything for a while. Finally she burst out laughing, amused and relieved with the true.

"It's fine, Phil, I've gone through that too" she reassured him, remembering the time Vic had had to speak with a fake french accent as she talked in chinese while they ordered a pizza, because they had heard that it was cheaper for the exchange students.

"Good to know. Now take this, I have an idea" he handed her a kinfe. "Your time to breake a heart"

Maty laughed, accepting the offer. She knelt down, put on her best face of feigned madness and cruelty and cleanly cut the pizza in two. Beside her, Phil did the same.

"Melinda, can I ask you something?" he asked, as they sat on the couch again.

"Yeah, sure, what's up?" she replied, eyes wide open as he knelt on his right knee.

"Would you make me the happiest guy in the world by conceding me the honor of conserving the half of your heart?" he asked, devouring with his eyes the pepperonis she had seized. "You know, in exchange of mine, with the promise of keeping safe that little part of you"

He had such a straight face that she could not help but laughing out loud. Melinda was a shy girl and didn't usually talk too much to people, but with him it was different. When it was about Phil Coulson, everything was different. Moreover, her laughter was not like the other girls's. It wasn't flirtatious, nervous or hollow, not seductive, but warm and maybe even too loud to come from that tiny girl of seventeen. The kind of laughter that makes you smile even when you don't know the joke and that you just have to join. That was her laugh, and he loved it.

"Fine, Phil, I'll give you the half of my heart" she said, once she was calmed again. "It's such an honor, you know. But you are not going to keep it safe, after all, you are going to eat it"

"That's for keeping it closer to me"

"Ah, that's deep. And gross"

"Nah, I'm a poet. Sorry, for the cheese proposal, by the way" he added, unable to stop himseld, and they both laughed again until there were tears in her eyes.

They exchanged halves, joking about who had the greatest and most inflated heart, and who was more stingy at the hour of sharing their attributes, such as were the pieces of meat and pepperoni. They accommodated on the couch and covered with a blanket as they sang The Addams family song. It was such a good show and made them laugh a lot, which was exactly what they needed.

Phil felt May resting her head on his shoulder, snuggling against him. Almost without thinking he hugged her by the shoulders, smiling to himself and feeling pleased as he had managed to cheer her up. If Mark had ditched her, he was probably a jerk. At some time the question she had made him before came back to his mind again; _isn't there any other girl you would like to be with? _And the truth, he thought, was that having Melinda May by his side and a heart-shaped pizza in hand, there was nothing else he could wish for in the world.

* * *

><p>I know it's not Valentine's day yet, just couldn't wait to post the chapter... What do you think? Post some reviews, please, I'd really love any feedback you could give me! :)<p> 


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